Title: The Amalgamation Agreement
Author: TheUnrealInsomniac and Eltanin Rose
Rating: M
Genre: Romance/Humor
Words: 47,739
Status: WIP
Library Category: Romance
Pairings: Harry/Daphne
Summary: 'Don't think of it as a marriage contract, I don't! It makes it easier- think of it as ... an amalgamation agreement. Makes it sound less complicated.' Harry/Daphne. EWE.

Link: FanFiction.Net

I left this in the Almost Recommendable thread when it first started, and now that it's updating again I can honestly say that I like this a fair amount.

Enough, at least, to outweigh the fact that it's yet another take on a marriage contract fic.

I think what really stood out to me for this one was Daphne's characterization. The authors nailed that one for me. Portraying her as not some ideal Pureblood princess or Ice Queen or whatever other fanon trope there is about Daphne is always refreshing to read. And, you know, it's very easy to relate to her awkwardness, her sense of simply not belonging.

Of course, there's also bits of humor that's a staple of TUI's writing (the pony song in the café scene is probably my favorite scene of the story) that are worked in very well and gave me a good laugh while reading it.

That's not to say the fic is without flaws. I found Harry to be overtly crude and prone to anger. The actual semantics (both magical and physical) behind the marriage contract also bugs me, mostly because it seems as though the contract is just another one of those "oh it works because magic" documents.

Spoiler

Like, the most recent chapter exemplifies what I'm talking about. I mean, come on, how can a piece of paper make you horny? Even if it was imbued with the magic of some long-dead vindictive old man.

It's not anything super special, but I found it decent enough and am unashamedly looking forward to updates.

3.5/5

 

This probably deserves almost recommended.

But fuck it. The prose is pretty good, Daphne isn't clone Daphne #8350, and there are moments that provide genuine lulz. So a bit clunky and well... you know... a marriage-contract-shoehorned-romance...

4 stars for being readable Teh Daphnez. Even with my most hated peeve smacking me in the face in Chapter 1. And if Harry's a bit overly headstrong, propz to the author for erring that way instead of mi-ladying*.

Edit: IRC!Vlad has no leg whatsoever to stand on, but Storyingtelling!Vlad does: goddam text talk. 'Cus' is making my eyes bleed. Despite the clunkiness I am genuinely alright with this story but every time I read 'cus' I want to punch a whole in my screen.

Edit2: There's a serious bipolar effort going on here, which I think is because there's two authors(?). Between scenes, Daphne shifts from between being pretty hot by anyone's standard to being the plain wallflower who's pretty but just doesn't know it. It's jarring.

It pains me, but I'm going down to a three on the rating. Still worth reading, but at this point it's firmly in the 'almost rec' category. If you like Harry/Daphne, read it. If you don't care one way or other, odds are there's other things you should bother reading first.

Edit 3: Ugh. Last chapter. The premise fails, the execution fails. The prose is in Tourettes territory.


*I swear tho it I end up seeing this I'm busting it down hardcore.

 

I really wish the guy would write a story with just Harry, Neville, and Ron. The bits where it's just them are great. The rest a bit overdone, but still readable.

It's become somewhat of a cliché over the years, but this is perfect 'Almost Recommended' material. 3/5.

 

Unique Daphne is a major selling point. Someone who takes a technically non-canon character and actually portrays her in a way that hasn't been done a million times before.

Harry is kinda prone to anger, but angry Harry is better than beaten down weary Harry and much better than pureblood scion Harry.

It has a marriage contract, which many people hate. I can get that its a common plot device for people too lazy to bring two people from virtually opposite walks of life together in a relationship. But I dont appreciate it when people say that its 'magically' impossible. Magic is magic. People can accept that you can turn objects into living beings and vice versa, that mirrors and clocks can have personalities and be sarcastic and snide. But throw in a binding contract or something and suddenly 'Its against the rules of Magic'?

The writing is good, though the slang can be jarring at times. Still better than the 'My lord's' and 'My Lady's' though.

I give it a 3/5.

 

In high school I learned the word amalgamation and proceeded to shoe horn it into every essay I wrote. I most likely used it in places where a simpler or different word would have sufficed - such is the case with this fic's title.

I read this fic a while ago when it was in the almost recommended thread, which is exactly where it belongs. The effort the author went to in order to make Daphne feel like a real character should have been also done on Harry. He falls flat as does the fic - it's just boring with very little standing out.

2/5

 

Ok, so a bit more information on how the fic was written:

Harry was written by TUI, who's known for his "What a Difference a Father Makes" series in which we see a Harry with many similarities to this one re: cursing, awkwardness, and anger. The Harry/Neville/Ron interactions are also probably him, and they're probably the best of what he's written in the story.

Daphne was written by Eltanin Rose, who's known for "Silver" which features Voldemort and Hermione. That's about as much as I know since I haven't read it. She's my favorite character in this fic, and the main reason why the fic hovers between Almost Recommedable to Library-worthy for me.

Yes chapter 7 was probably the worst chapter thus far, but I still do have hopes for this story. There's a lot to be explored with Daphne that we got a glimpse of with her breakdown in chapter six, and is what keeps me checking for updates.

 

Works by committee is always a risky proposition, and this story runs into the biggest issue: scenes not story. There are genuinely good scenes and moments here, but the longer it goes on the more the glue of the overarch falls apart, and the more jarring the changes in the narrative between the two writers.

The most touching moment in the whole story is Daphne trying to fix Teddy's handprints and not being capable. I felt her shame and humiliation and righteous anger at being a weak/incompetent/frazzled witch combined with the feeling of helplessness at Harry's prior behavior. I wanted to see more of this character struggle. I saw a flash of Harry feeling empathy for Daphne while still being pissed at her father and general family.

Didn't happen. In fact, I'd say the story in the last two chapters (though primarily the last) is becoming a parody of its own best moments. It went to everyone being super mean to her at her own birthday for no reason, this girl who had friends across houses and is very pretty... for no other reason than Cinderella drama. Suddenly the family ugly duckling for no reason whatsoever except to maek soem angst. Then suddenly the contract magic...

 

It's a guilty pleasure fic. Its mediocre. There are bad parts like the overabundance of swearing or the birthday party with everyone being dick to Daphne for no reason. There are also some good parts like the juxtaposition of Daphne wearing formal dress with sneakers or magical culture not being Pureblood High Society all the time. Also, the fact that Daphne isn't a perfect female specimen and that she wears glasses and it wasn't fixed with magical potion or some other gimmick - it's my personal Pet Peeve when this happens for no reaseon other than making the character more 'hot'.

As I said previously, this fic is mediocre, its average. It also does not posses any kind of plot, beyond the basic "there's a marriage contract". 3/5.

 

Agree with everything. It started pretty great, but went downhill quick. They were so focused on getting us to sympathize with Daphne, that they went a little overboard. Never mind the fact that from chapter one, most of the viewers probably liked her more than this characterization of Harry already.

And the last chapter was just. . . I don't even know what they were thinking. A whole chapter discussing and explaining how horny they both were? If I didn't know better, I'd say that the author(s) were having a dry spell.

 

This sums up my feelings about the story in general and the latest update in particular quite well.

One or two of the lines from the last chapter were genuinely funny, the rest was more like "meh, yeah, sure" material. Not to forget the cringeworthy, all-encompassing topic of horniness. Sure, in-universe it further goes to show just how much of a rotten bastard the old Black was (as if that needed any further elaboration at this point), but that doesn't mean that I want to spend the better part of 10,000 words reading about it. This topic would have worked way better as a solitary, smaller scene in a larger chapter, in my opinion. Not to mention that there is no other advancement in the main plot.

One of the few redeeming features of the chapter is Daphne's introduction to Harry's music collection. This kind of thing is one thing I would say the authors do well, they always manage to put one or two new slices of information on the characters into their updates.

In general, I still like the fic for its dialogue, unique approach to old ideas (even though that was my major point of critique for the latest update) and the setting. Harry being an auror, living on his own in a somewhat muggle-fied house and non-magical neighbourhood has always been one of my favourite headcanons. Since I am also a sucker for almost every halfway readable Harry/Daphne story I would rate it, right now, 3.5/5, rounded up to 4/5.